Eurobodalla – the Solar Coast

SHASA welcomes Federal Labor’s commitment to establish the first Community Power Hub on the NSW South Coast. It will be a pilot which will be followed by another nine community hubs in regional areas across Australia

Picture of attendees of meeting with Mark Butler and Fiona Phillips. SHASA attendees from left to right Iris Domeier, Frank Eden, Amadis Lacheta, Steve Colman, Kathryn Maxwell, Rob Shorrock and Brett Stevensen. Far left Bill Coldicott from Clean Energy for Eternity Bermagui and 4th from the right Prue Kelly from Clean Energy for Eternity Bega. Labor Party attendees included Mark Butler, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Fiona Phillips, Labor Candidate for Gilmore and Jenny McAllister, Labor senator. NSW.

The focus of the Community Power Hub is to support local community renewables projects that help renters and social housing tenants access cheaper and cleaner renewable energy.The Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy Mark Butler is taking a unique approach of asking community groups focused on renewables for project ideas. Mr Butler recently spent a day in Moruya with a number of community members to hear ideas for the South Coast community power hub. Fiona Phillip, Labor candidate for Gilmore, also attended the meeting and expressed her strong support for the first community power hub being on the South Coast and Far South Coast. SHASA’s project proposals will target the 26% of households in rental accommodation and nearly 8% in social housing and includes:

Installing solar systems on social housing;

Installing solar on community organisations that provide services to those on low incomes:

Providing a solar rebate for landlords who install solar for private tenants;

Installing roof top solar and underfloor insulation on social housing; and

An electrically powered run community bus for the Eurobodalla

Chair of SHASA Kathryn Maxwell said “these initiatives will:

Create employment with local installers of solar and insulation;

Ensure, for the next 25 years, that less money will leave the Eurobodalla to pay energy bills as the only power generation in the Eurobodalla is solar; and

Accelerate the Eurobodalla becoming the Solar Coast.

It would be great to see other political parties follow the lead of the Labor Party.